One More Teeming Pile Left! Round 2 With Pduval69 Mar 26 '05    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Music Jersey Boys [Original Broadway Cast Recording] by Original Broadway Cast From $8 Mai by Eri Sugai From $4 The Bottom Line west coast trippin' again! The sun sets in the west, does it not? Of all the ambiance that we can admire on Earth, could there be anything more powerful than the sun set? It determines so many things, from our mood to headlight usage. We watch it, with its dark oranges and bright yellows, sink into the horizon. From there we give kisses and beatings under the protective blanket of the black night. Then it returns to reveal our passion and scars. Powerful, indeed. Well, now that it's time for me to tell you about the second half of my west coast mixtape experience with Paul (pduval69), and there is no better way to begin than with sun philosophies. Where "This Disc Is A Teeming Pile Of Sh*t Volume One" was up-tempo, dancy, and all around in-your-face, in most instances "Volume Two" is heavier on the ambient atmospheres, and dreamy content. In a way, it mirrors the differences in the two mixes I gave him, "A Coke & A Style", and "Pink Fireflies, Smithwick's, And The Night", but not as extreme. Just look and listen... 1. "Babylon" - Superlito (Rating: 3/5): Can you feel the adrenaline? Can you smell the ecstasy? Babylon is able to provide hard-hitting electro grooves for the club here, which, in turn, provides massive sensory overload for the intoxicated and sober alike. The language barrier here is a bit more hard to overcome on this one than on the Cafe Tacuba joint I got on the last mix, but is not an issue in rating this song. It's just that such high-powered dance tracks offer very limited staying power in my deck, especially this one, which lacks much variance. This still doesn't take away from the fact that it's one heckuvan apt opener that gets me back in the west coast trippin' mood! 2. "It's Like The Man Said" - Pigeonhed (Rating: 2/5): Some low-key dance rhythms play here, featuring the deepest of bass, ridden by the cowbell and various synth effects and sounds. The vocals morph, sounding at times like a friend calling you long distance from hell; at others, like a friend calling you long distance from a strip club. Interesting, but I ultimately find myself in a daze by the end of this one. No energy; no emotion. No dice. 3. "Westside" - Athlete (Rating: 5/5): It's all about the rock scene, baby! And everybody wants to be part of it. You...me...him...her. With such ho-hum sentiments to revolve a song around, this sounds to me like a great bar song that somehow got transformed into a great recorded song. Perhaps it's the keyboards, which create an extra depth in the atmosphere. Perhaps it's the singer and how his voice works both the low-key soothing/emotive sections as well as the more powerful rock sections. Whatever it is, it works. Really well. 4. "Don't Save Us From The Flames" - M83 (Rating: 5/5): This one is funny, because I'm not sure if Paul wanted to get me interested in M83's latest, "Before The Dawn Heals Us", or if he was trying to scare me away, as he did give the album a 2 star review. Either way, I think this is just one of the more incredible songs I've heard in forever. It's got ambient-pop verses, with spells of absolutely mesmerizing keyboard and guitar, which boil over like magma from a volcanic eruption. The juxtaposition of ambiance versus noise is astounding and eye-opening. I absolutely love it. 5 & 6. "After" Atjazz Remix & Live Version - Dzihan & Kamien (Atjazz Rating: 5/5; Live Rating: 4/5): Something tells me that Paul is straight-up, unapologetically, pimping Dzihan and Kamien to me. And you know what? Beyond all probability, it's actually working. (I say that because such dance music is not my usual bag; not because there's anything wrong with the group.) After the super-long but super-pleasing "Sliding" made me shake my shoulders and dance in my carseat on "Volume 1", I get a double-dose of "After", which is a more subtle groove than what I previously experience. This Atjazz Remix is more likely to get a play from me while sipping a Smithwick's, looking at the pink fireflies, and sitting in the black of night, than on my way out to a party. And the drums are simply spell-binding; never one to overlook percussion, I was into the rhythm from the first moment, especially during the times when it's nearly the only thing there. The live version feels like more Bourbon Street material. You can even hear some people hootin' and hollerin' in the background. Live music recorded is not really my thing, but here the live band creates a fuller sound to go with the same groove I loved on the Atjazz Remix. Wonderful, wondrous, and simply, chillin'. 7. "Saturn In The Rain" - Alpha (Rating: 5/5): This is from an album called "Stargazing". Those around here who know me well know that I'm a sucker for titles such as Alpha has come up with. I'm too emo for my own good. Still, the music accompanying the titles should be good and it surely doesn't fail me here. The soundscape is quite ambient, dreamy, and steeped in bassy tones, while our lead singer sounds like a less flamboyant version of Antony & The Johnson's lead-singer (forget his name), which is very pleasing for the purpose of this song, and probably otherwise. Studying, driving, hanging-out; this one is perfect for any occasion. Like a laser show on the moon or ice-skating on Saturn's rings. 8. "Perfect Blue Sky" - Robert Smith w/ Junkie XL (Rating: 4/5): Please tell me Junkie XL is not related to Chino XL. I mean, they have the same last name. But thankfully, it appears not to be, as "Perfect Blue Sky" is a romantic electro-rock song that feels, to me, both heart-warming and haunting. What a strange effect, though it's probably a more accurate representation of love than the flat-out, "aww, I love you soooo much", type of material. Then again, I generally prefer more despondent love songs, which is probably more of a commentary on the state of my love-life right now than anything else, but oh well. That's not the minor problem I have with this song, though. It's just a little fleeting, is all. I like the electronic explosion at the end, though. Now that's like my situation with the ladies. 9. "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free (Soulpower Hip-Hop Mix)" - Sting (Rating: 1/5): Sting singing over Craig Mack's "Flava In Ya Ear" is possibly the most disturbing musical idea in the history of civilization. 10. "Caroline" - MC Solaar (Rating: Not Rated): Much respect for Paul testing some non-English stuff on me. I don't always need to understand exactly what a musician is saying to feel what they're doing. But perhaps foreign-language hip-hop is a bit too much for me to overcome. The music here is jazzy and a little dark, providing a sublime track for MC Solaar to lace with raps. His flow is crisp, if not a bit too low-key to keep you engaged with his voice. Then again, if I had any idea what he was saying, maybe such a cadence would make more sense. But since I find lyrics so important for a song like this, I can't possibly rate it. Unfortunately, I'm lost in translation. 11. "Flowers & Birds" - Rise Robots Rise (Rating: 2/5): "Wheeeeen we return/ We willllll be flowers and birds." I like the way this one comes in. Again, Paul tries to get me to love Rise Robots Rise. As he previously stated to me, they're a group of obscure musicians coming together to rise above their individual anonymity. But this time, the lines I've quoted up top are all that I care for. The raps that come in are more like chants, and are very corny anti-"the man" statements that some hippies would probably write when they're more than half-baked. Like the previous effort I heard from them, "Solar Blues", the music changes and goes in many different directions, but this time it all comes off as corn and cheese to me. Here we have good intentions, but not enough muscle to pull it off. 12. "Believe" - Chemical Brothers w/ Kele Okerele from Bloc Party (Rating: 1/5): Offering numero uno from the Chem's latest features a man who is surely destined for fame: Kele Okerle. Bloc Party's debut ("Silent Alarm") has them at the next big thing status, but right here Mr. Okerle has one purpose and that's to rock the crowd. Unfortunately, Okerele's vocals aren't used to anything close to their potential, offering but a few simple and dull lines, while the Chem's beat is a very generic club track. Is that a chain saw I hear? Weird. It's not like I expected some life-affirming commentary on God's green pastures. I just expected something half-way inspiring. 13. "Hold Tight London" - Chemical Brothers w/ Anna Lynne Williams from Trespassers William (Rating: 5/5): See, now this is what I wanted to hear from the Chems. Ms. Williams made me dream away with Trespassers William on "Alone", from "Volume One", and over this more abstract Chem offering, she has the same effect. The synthesizers whirling; the rhythmic bass, the backbone; that bewitching voice; this is pretty heavenly. And now I'm completely confused on whether or not I want to check out that new Chem's album. 14. "Ea$y Money" - Magik Vapor (Co-writing, rhythm guitar and bass by...PAUL DUVAL!) (Rating: 5/5): This sounds like something you'd hear on the Real World as the participants get cracking on their little job for the stay. And, by golly, Paul has informed me that they are shopping this song for such purposes. It's a dancy little joint; sounds like some sort of disco-funk-rock. It kind of reminds me of Scissor Sisters, but only in the good ways. The guitar solo near the closer has me sold; hopefully MTV feels the same soon. And don't forget about the Magik Vapor album, "Magnitude", coming soon! What a way to close out this double-duty mix trade: with a great song that had the mix-master on it. Wonderful. Now the sun has fully set in the west, and there are no more teeming piles of sh*t for me to sift through. Until the next time, I'd just like to thank Paul for a great swap, and would urge him to stay active in the mix trade. And the Epinions Mixtape Circuit keeps on rollin'... * * * * * * * * * * PDUVAL69 and CRYPTICCRADE GO TWO ROUNDS! Round One Eric reviews "This Disc Is A Teeming Pile Of Sh*t Volume One" Paul reviews "A Coke And A Style" Round Two Eric reviews "This Disc Is A Teeming Pile Of Sh*t Volume Two" (YOU ARE HERE) Paul reviews "Pink Fireflies, Smithwick's, And The Night" * * * * * * * * * * For more information about Cryptic Cradle and his reviews, please click here. * * * * * * * * * * Written by Cryptic Cradle for Spike-A-Delic Productions.

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